Introduction
| CRRID, Chandigarh proposes to organize an International Conference on “Mountain Cities, Climate Change and Urban Sustainability” from November 6-8, 2017 and a two days Pre Conference Workshop on “Towards Achieving Green Growth, Eco-Efficiency & SDGs for Urban Sustainability” from November 4-5, 2017. It will also organise a "Youth Forum for Social & Solidarity Economy, Peace and Urban Sustainability" at the time of the conference. The International Conference, the pre conference Workshop and Youth Forum are part of Chandigarh Climate Meet (first in the series) to be organized Jointly by CRRID and Asia Climate Change Education Center (ACCEC), Jeju, South Korea in collaboration with the Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh and the Centre for Study of Administration of Relief (CSAR), New Delhi. The Working Group 05 of International Sociological Association (ISA) on Famine and Society; the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh; The Climate Reality Project India, New Delhi; the Centre for Urban Green Spaces (CUGS), New Delhi and the Association of Professional Social Workers and Development Practitioners (APSWDP), Chandigarh are also likely to support the organization of events in various capacities. Call for Abstracts for the Conference & Applications for the Pre-Conference Workshop The call for abstracts for International Conference and applications for pre conference workshop are open. The conference and workshop aim to deliberate on interlinked issues of mountains and mountain cities, climate change, green growth, eco efficiency, SDGs and urban sustainability. In a changing climate, mountain cities and regions are becoming vulnerable. Mountains provide the world with resources such as water, timber, biodiversity and hydraulic energy and they are at risk (http://www.fao.org/news/video-clips/2012/mountainday2012/en/). They also play crucial role in maintaining hydrology, supplying drinking and irrigation water to the habitats in mountains as well as plains through network of rivers, produce hydro energy, control temperature, and support food production and bio diversity in large parts of the world. Mountains and mountain cities are facing various challenges due to rapid and unplanned urbanization, emergence of slums with multiple deprivations, growing number of tourists, depletion of green cover & bio-diversity, lack of adequate treatment of liquid and solid waste, pollution etc. The growing cities and high concentration of urban population seem to contribute to the climate change and fast depletion of natural resources. Mountains provide fresh water to over 50% of the population in the world which is under stress. Mountain habitats are under threat of natural disasters like earth quakes, floods, landslides, glacial lake bursts, cloud bursts, and forest fires. The huge mountain populations face social, economic and environmental issues due to construction of dams and resultant rehabilitation. The risks and vulnerabilities are growing in cities in mountain regions. The occurrence of floods is on rise. Water and air pollution are risking health of the people. The urban sustainability seems to be at stake due to un-sustainability of mountain cities and habitats. Achieving many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be particularly challenging for mountain states and cities due to their difficult hilly terrains and weak institutional base along with multiple social and economic vulnerabilities. There is a need to protect mountains and safeguard the interests of mountain people who have unique cultural diversity, indigenous beliefs, climate friendly living environment and traditional wisdom for conservation of ecology and biodiversity and agriculture practices. The conference is likely to come up with concrete ideas for better urban future in mountain regions amid the climate change. Since role of mountains are crucial for addressing many social, economic, environmental concerns cities are facing in hilly areas and even nearby plains, the conference will deliberate and discuss the issues, alternatives, innovations and modalities for sustaining the same. The sessions/ papers on different contexts of the theme/s are being invited. Collective actions, environmental and social movements in this regard will also be discussed. Poverty is a multi dimensional problem and it is more crucial in mountain regions. Poverty is closely linked with marginalization. The issues emerging in poverty alleviation require extensive discussion and dissemination of good practices for replication. Participation is another important aspect of urban management and governance in mountain cities and therefore sessions are welcome to discuss emerging patterns of participation in various social, political and economic contexts in mountain regions/ areas. The sessions on various aspects of mountain cities and regions, water and forest management, adaptation, resilience, marginalization, poverty, hunger, food, decentralization in local as well as global contexts are welcome and how the same can help in resolving various types of conflicts in the urban societies in mountain regions. The conference will also discuss the emerging issues and options capturing the full import of the acronym FAMINE (Food insecurity as a consequence of severely diminished purchasing power of vulnerable groups in society, Alienation on account of discrimination based on Caste, Color or Creed; Marginalization on account of severely diminishing real incomes; Inequality based on dysfunctional social systems and travails of the workers in Informal Sector, Negative impact on vulnerable groups of natural calamities & man-made disasters such as civil wars and economic shocks caused by market volatility; & Exclusion from mainstream society based on social and economic ostracization resulting in social conflict, unrest and violence) in the context of the mountain cities, climate change and urban sustainability. |
| The abstracts are invited in a wide range of areas, including the following: o Mountain Cities - Special Challenges for mountain cities - Planning, governance and urban management - Improvement of transportation system - Strategy on prevention of disasters - Improvement of educational, cultural and social welfare facility - Improvement of housing quality, basic services and livelihood - Green growth of cities- smart innovations and inclusive initiatives - Meeting demands of energy, water and food - Smart urban development amid globalization, liberalization and privatization o Climate Change - The role of environmental NGOs in response to climate change - The role of citizens in response to climate change - The role of enterprises in response to climate change - How to improve energy efficiency against climate change - Nature-based approach to climate change - Critical review of Paris climate change agreement -Global initiatives-local impact - Managing river basins and related issues - Global water governance - Climate change, water, energy and food: Interlinkages and issues - Hydro based development in Himalayan and other mountain regions - Carbon management and green technological interventions - Natural disaster management o Urban Sustainability -Achieving SDGs-status, issues and challenges - Role of cities in sustainable urban development - How to overcome over-urbanization, growth of slums & poverty - Eco mobility and environmental refugees - Challenge of affordable housing - Urban transportation and environmental pollution - Improving Eco-efficiency and Green Growth - Issues and alternatives in water, sanitation, SWM - Building a sound-material-cycle society through 3 Rs - Environmentally sustainable transport - Culture, traditional wisdom and identity - Addressing urban concerns to promote Social & Solidarity Economy (SSE) - Role of youths in SSE, Peace and urban sustainability o Other Important Issues for the sessions -Collective action and social movements -Participatory planning -Rights based development -Natural resource management-water and forests -Participation, organizational democracy and self management -Climate change, natural disasters and food insecurity -Social accountability -Marginalization & deprivation -Poverty, inequality & exclusion -Community governance -Women empowerment |
| The focus of the conference is to understand and examine the distinctive trajectories of the spiraling urbanization process in mountain cities and regions in the world and how climate change is likely to affect urban sustainability. In this context what alternatives are emerging to cope with the emerging challenges of climate change in mountain cities and regions to achieve sustainable development goals. It aims to provoke questions in different contexts vis a vis many of the above aspects is concerned and explore various alternatives to manage the growth and development in juxtaposition with increasing pressure of climate change, inequalities, poverty and social exclusions. |
